A crockpot or slow cooker can be used to prepare this deliciously rich chicken and pesto pasta. Adding freshly grated Parmesan cheese will enhance the flavor of the pesto, which is quite creamy and rich. Enjoy!
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 hrs |
| Total Time: | 5 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water, or as needed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 (8 ounce) jar pesto
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1 (16 ounce) package egg noodles
- 8 ounces grated Parmesan-Romano-Asiago cheese
- ½ cup milk
Instructions
- Place chicken in a slow cooker on High power. Add broth and water to cover. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook until chicken is no longer pink inside, about 3 hours.
- Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred using a fork. Return chicken to the pot. Add 1 cup of cream and an entire jar of pesto.
- Cook on High 1 more hour.
- Add remaining cream, egg noodles, and 3/4 of the grated cheese to the slow cooker. Add milk.
- Cook on High until noodles are cooked, about 1 hour more. Add extra milk for a thinner sauce. Top with remaining cheese.
- You can use half-and-half in place of cream if you prefer.
- The dish freezes well, but I recommend dividing it into smaller portions first.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 832 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 46 g |
| Cholesterol | 231 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 50 g |
| Saturated Fat | 24 g |
| Sodium | 1075 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 50 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this, but modified it kind of a lot, but the basic recipe is what I started from. I used 3 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of 2 and 3 cups of water instead of 2. I used 8oz of cream cheese instead of half and half. I didn’t use any milk. I also didn’t use Parmesan cheese. During the “add pesto” stage I also added half of a diced yellow onion, two diced stalks of celery and 4 minced garlic cloves. During the “add egg noodles” stage I added spaghetti noodles instead. During the beginning of the add noodles stage there was a lot of liquid and I was concerned it would be too watery, but after only a half hour, the noodles had soaked up the liquid and it became really smooth and creamy with the cream cheese adding just the right amount of “thickness” to the rest of the ingredient. I modified this so much it could possibly be is own recipe but like I said, it was the base of where I started. It turned out great the way I did it and my wife loved it, even the picky kid in the family loved it.
I made this, but modified it kind of a lot, but the basic recipe is what I started from. I used 3 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of 2 and 3 cups of water instead of 2. I used 8oz of cream cheese instead of half and half. I didn’t use any milk. I also didn’t use Parmesan cheese. During the “add pesto” stage I also added half of a diced yellow onion, two diced stalks of celery and 4 minced garlic cloves. During the “add egg noodles” stage I added spaghetti noodles instead. During the beginning of the add noodles stage there was a lot of liquid and I was concerned it would be too watery, but after only a half hour, the noodles had soaked up the liquid and it became really smooth and creamy with the cream cheese adding just the right amount of “thickness” to the rest of the ingredient. I modified this so much it could possibly be is own recipe but like I said, it was the base of where I started. It turned out great the way I did it and my wife loved it, even the picky kid in the family loved it.
Very easy. Very delicious. Husband loved it. Pesto flavor a little strong for me, but will definitely make again with perhaps a little less pesto.
Made this dish for dinner last night. I followed the receipt and it turned out great. The only problem that I found is that you have to come back to it a couple of times to finish it off. It’s not a throw in the ingredients and forget it, but it was delicious.